L’Air du Desert Marocain (Tauer, 2005) is dear to us at NOAH, a breakthrough scent and a beloved introduction to the Australian market - its complex of cedarwood, coriander seed, and amber materials is immediately recognisable; a feeling and an evocation of sweetly scented and dry spiced desert air, gathered from the souks and markets of Morocco. It continues to make Fragrantica’s top lists, even twenty years after its launch. It is clear that Morocco is the source of great inspiration for many, and Marc-Antoine Corticchiato’s tribute is personal, speaking to his homeland. Azemour Les Orangers (Parfum d’Empire, 2011) ventures to the ocean coast - Azemmour - visiting the family orange grove. This scent is aptly the whole universe of the orange tree, a chypre tribute to the land where realistic citrus freshness meets the sea and sunlit earth.
Ambre Russe (Parfum d’Empire, 2005) shares an evocative power and showcases the many faces of amber with a full-bodied richness; as warm as a Slavic winter needs it to be. It is the opulence of an imperial soiree, the heady delights of effervescent Champagne, wood-smoked black tea, chilly vodka, and ambergris against a traditional Russian leather accord tinted with amber notes.
1740 (Histoires de Parfums, 2000), without doubt, belongs to a lineage of leathery perfumes - emphasising a sublime bitterness up top with bergamot, immortelle, and artemisia oils - until its leathery patchouli shape takes form. It gets its name from the birthdate of the Marquis de Sade, who famously declared the libertine slogan: “in order to know virtue, you must get through vice”. Trust us, it’s worth it. Find freshness in Bon Monsieur (Rogue Perfumery, 2020), a good gentlemanly contrast to 1740. The beautiful and purifying scent of rich lavender absolute, generously doused here, is further freshened with rose geranium and citrus oils, finding completion in oakmoss, cedar, and woody materials. A generous aromatic fragrance, redolent of fine shaving soaps and retro aftershave preparations. Mousse Illuminee by Manuel Cross (Rogue Perfumery, 2018) is a scent so gloriously anachronistic - so radiant and strong - that it could only be the result of small-batch craft. A hymn to the powerhouse fragrances of the ‘80s, lifting bitter herbal and mossy notes with frankincense and impressive green nuances.
1899 (Histoires de Parfums, 2000) takes its name from Hemingway's birth year and celebrates his Paris years. A whiff of a gin-cocktail, forward on the pine and juniper, aromatised with herbs, softened with cinnamon and vanilla. A fragrance of enveloping warmth and melancholy. It is the scent of a man who has lived, and written about it.
Baraonda (Nasomatto, 2015) is named after the Italian word for uproar or chaos, and earns it. It opens with a boozy, whisky-toned rush - fruity, warm, caramel - finally settling on a deep pillow of musk. Alessandro Gualtieri's fragrances resist easy description, but Baraonda is among his finest: simultaneously disorienting and addictive, the kind of fragrance that provokes strong opinions and repeat wearings in equal measure. Among Fragrantica's most critically regarded releases of the last decade. Pardon (Nasomatto, 2012) is the other side of Gualtieri's coin - where Baraonda is chaos, Pardon is something closer to contrition. An extravagant and well-mannered construction, it draws on images of the dandy. A large woody patchouli structure constitutes the heart of this fragrance, the cleaner aspects touched up with aniseed, cinnamon, a complementary chocolate touch, and amber and woods in the typical Nasomatto style.
Bois Imperial from Essential Parfums needs little introduction, and has become a legend - a modern classic - in no time at all. A distinctive dose of Akigalawood (patchouli) and Georgywood (cedar) - woody materials with exceptional radiance and cleanliness - grounds a sparkling opening of Thai basil, timut pepper - closely related to Sichuan pepper, and grapefruit. This is an aromatic dance, fizzing and bubbling over a woody surface that lasts seemingly forever.
Vanille Havane (Les Indemodables) is simply vanilla excellent, daring to overdose its namesake material with an infusion at 9.1%. This is not synthetically derived vanillin, but the full wonder and spectacle of an infusion of vanilla pods from Comoros. The result is nuance and dimension, with intoxicating impressions of tobacco, rum, animalic notes, spices, and milkiness, set against dusty cacao, faceted with jasmine absolute.
In nomine Christi … LAVS by Filippo Sorcinelli is an incense fragrance that stands out. No other scent can claim to have accompanied the papal robes of two popes, Benedict XVI and Francis, bestowing the fragrance remarkable pedigree. Lavs begins like a hymn - incense rising with a fine spiritual energy, pulling us inward, back to the centre of our gravity. At its heart, rosewood reigns: dark, polished, with its deep grained body and lingering sweet floral resonance. This noble wood is steeped in frankincense, anchoring the composition with dusky gravity, and spices.
